Sign



July 21, 1953 w. ERNST 2,645,868

Patented July 2l, 1953 i UNITED STATES PATENTy OFFICE l 2,645,868 n n SIGN Walter L. Ernst, Ami Arbor, Mich. Application February s, 1947, yserial No. 727,319

2 claims. (c1. ic-17) The present invention relates to sign devices and more particularly to improvements in illuminated signs for outside as Well as inside applications.

One of the objects of the present invention is 'f Another object of the invention resides in the' relationship in which a sleeve having indicia thereon is mounted directly upon a cylindrical glass surface which serves a three-fold purpose of supporting, illuminating and'journalling the sleeve without mutual abrasion so that the sleeve may be continuously or intermittently rotated thereon or rotated to any one 'of anumber of fixed positions Without damage to the light source or sleeve. t l y A further object of the invention is to provide ay changeable sign Which is journalled: directly upon its light source in a place difiicult to reach and yet be controlled remotely to locate any desired portion of the design Where it is visible. A further object of the invention is to provide a source of illumination and a sign element illuminated andsupported thereby with glass smooth surfaces so that they can be assembled or moved With respect to each other inA intimate, sharp line definition relationship with each other under conditions in Which there is little effort and little friction and no damage involved Whether the movement is made once, intermittently or continuously.

The invention is further characterized by the novel construction and arrangement of rparts which is inexpensive to manufacture and'use, simple and easy to assemble, install and repair, and which alford extremely clear and longdis tance visibility. These being among the objects of the invention, other and further objects Willbecome apparent froml the drawing, the description relating thereto and the appended claims. l

In the drawing: c n Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a sign unit embodying the invention as it rappears when ready for use. Y i l Fig. 2 is also a side view of the device shown in Fig. 1 taken at right angles to the vievvbf Fig. 1.'

y 2 Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the embodiment of the invention as rotated to a point at right angles with respect tothe relative position shown in Fig. 2.

jFi'g. 4 is a section taken upon line 4 4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a preferred form of a sheet embodying the invention before it is rolled to the form shown in Figs. 3vand fl. c

Fig. 6 is a perspective View of another` embodiment of the inventionk when constructed forlarge sign purposes and remote control thereof. c

Fig. '7 is a side elevation of a barber pole type of sign embodying the invention. t

Fig. 8 is a section taken upon line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a schematic view of the essential elements of another form of the invention in which indicia on the'l sign can be changed manually a a point remote from the sign.

`By way of a better understanding of the invention, the disclosures in the Harrison Patent No. 2,276,842 .and the patents referred to therein are hereby incorporated as a part of this specification. From these disclosures it will be observed that it is the commercial practice to mount an electric discharge device such as a fluorescent lamp HJ in an electrical circuit l I whereby cathodes (not shown) disposed in opposite ends of the lamps are heated to a point at which theyl become electron emissive. A discharge arc is then struck between the cathodes to carry on this emission. Auxiliaries such as a starter l2 and reactor ballast I3 are provided to accomplish this inthe tube, and the electron bombardment thus produced is directed against luminescent materials which convert the high energy radiations of electrons into radiant energy coming within or near the visible portion of the spectrum (cathodoluminescence) t The tube l0 is generally made of glass, formed cylindrically and closed at both ends as fused around cathode leads (not shown)v in supporting relationship .to form an envelope.- The luminescent material is deposited on the inside wallof the tube and the luminescence resulting from the electron bombardment is in the form of light released through the wall of the tube to the outside.

yCaps I4 are cemented to opposite ends ofthe tube and spaced contact pins i5 carried thereby and electrically connected with the cathodes are provided at each end for mounting the tube in supporting sockets I6. The sockets I 6 are mounted on a box l1 which enclosesV the auxiliaries and heretofore has served as a reecting 3 surface. The box I1 in turn is mounted wherever desired, the same as any light fixture.

In releasably mounting the tubes upon the sockets, the pins I5 are slipped laterally into grooves on the sockets and with a quarter turn of the tube in either direction the pins are locked in place to support the tube until such time as the tube may be removed manually by another quarter turn which frees the pins for removal when desired. In the present invention I journal a sleeve 20 on the tube Il) so that it can be supported directly and solely upon the cylindrical outer surface of the glass portion thereof for locating indicia 2| at any desired position. This sleeve is made preferably of a transparent plastic such as cellulose acetate and can be either rolled from a sheet 22 or supplied as a cutoff section of a tube. The indicia are preferably incorporated by coating the sheet with a photosensitive emulsion from which the light sensitive elements have been dissolved out over restricted areas. These areas may be either the indicia themselves or the background. The sheet 22 may be of any length desired but preferably is only six inches wide, just enough to wrap around a fluorescent tube with sufficient overlap 23 (Fig. 4) to be supported loosely upon the tube. Any pattern may be used in the background or in the form of the letters, and the transparent portion may be colored any color or colors desiredA either by staining or superposed translucent colored tapes 24, which tapes are only used to hold the sheet 22 in its tubular form once it is made ready for use.

As shown in Fig. 4, the sheet is rolled transversely to its length and the overlapping edges are held together by a strip of either opaque or colored pressure sensitive adhesive tape 24 running around the tube, and a strip of pressure sensitive adhesive tape 25 running lengthwise of the tube to hold the edges together. In forming the sleeve into a cylinder, it is preferred to wrap it tightly upon a cylindrical form which is slightly larger than the diameter of the tube l0 so that the sleeve, when removed from the form, can be slipped over the tube from either end thereof to rest on the tube with sulcient looseness that it may rotate thereon when manually moved for that purpose. A solvent such as acetone can be used to secure the overlapping edges together if desired.

It has been found that a sign thus made, when provided with the emulsion on the inside thereof, has sufficient friction with the glass surface of the tube that it will not rotate unless positively moved by hand, even though the off-balance weight of the overlap has in some instances had a tendency to rotate the sign if the emulsion is on the outside of the sleeve. However, it is preferred, where the sign is going to be rotated often, to have the emulsion on the outside of the sleeve. This is not too critical, however, because once the tube and sleeve have been warmed the rst time after each movement of the sleeve, the sleeve becomes slightly adhesive to hold it in its imposed position. This slight adhesiveness is more pronounced when the smooth side of the sleeve is next to the tube than it is when the emulsion side is next to the tube. The heat of the fluorescent tube is just sufcient for this purpose without danger of permanent damage to the sleeve and without danger of fire. Thus an ideal combination for sign purposes is provided Whether the sign is exposed to ambient air in the atmosphere or is located in a confining space.

Another form of the invention is shown in Fig. 9 where a combined night light and changeable sign to inform passersby whether a store is open or closed is left lighted continuously. The sign is generally mounted out of standing reach of persons in a store but is changeable by a loop of string 26 doubled around it. Once the sign is turned on, the shopkeeper merely tightens the loop of the string and pulls either side enough that the sleeve is rotated to readv either Open or Closed In this particular embodiment the indicia are preferably made opaque with the rest of the sleeve transparent so that sufficient light is spread through the store to serve as a nightlight. However, this is not entirely necessary because a transparent window 21 similar to that shown` with the sheet 22 of Fig. 5 can be pro- 'vided to direct the light wherever desired.

In Fig. '7 is shown another application of the invention in which a slow-speed motor 30 is mounted with its armature shaft 3l parallel to the sign having a barber pole sleeve 32 thereon of alternate red, white and blue helical bands. A band 33 wrapped around a pulley 34 and the sleeve 32 propels the barber shop sleeve 32. The speed in one instance can be too slow to cause harmful friction whereas, as shown in Fig. 8, a brass ring or band 35 is utilized as disposed between the sleeve and the glass tube to serve as a bearing. The band is adhered to the sleeve and the lower end thereof abuts the face of the lower one of the sockets I6.

In those instances where the sign is to be moved periodically and is located in a place too remote for mechanical control, the sleeve can be moved by the motor 30 through the use of a start and stop switch 36. Such an arrangement is shown in Fig. 6 where the switch 36 is used to start and stop the motor 30, and, although the motor 30 could be a reversing motor, it need only move in one direction since the sign is a repeating one alternately displaying In and OutJ In this figure, a modification of the invention is also shown where the sleeve is mounted upon two spaced tubes I0, thus providing a flat area on the sign for large indicia.

Regardless of how the sleeve is mounted upon one, two or more tubes, in all instances the sleeves are removable from the tubes quickly and easily merely by gripping the sleeve hard enough to squeeze it frictionally against the tube, turning the tube a quarter turn to release the pins and then withdrawing the tube. With the tube Withdrawn, an old sleeve can be slipped of! and a new one slipped on and the tube remounted. Thus signs can be changed bodily as well as rotatively to display different indicia at any given time, and in those instances where light is desired in certain installations the window-like transparencies 21 can be provided along with the sign in the same sleeve with or without color.

. In conjunction with the sign it is preferred to provide caps 4D for the sockets to catch any possible spill of light not controlled by the sleeve. T'he caps are removably secured in place by screws 39. On these caps are provided ears 4| which serve as stops lto prevent a control string 26 or band 33 from slipping endwise of the tube and becoming fouled between the tube ends and the sockets. This is part of the relationship in which the sleeve is coextensive with the length of the tube, less the length of the pins, so that the lsleeve is limited in its endwise movement by the sockets, and the string or band further restricted by the ears. The caps more than overlap the ends of the sleeve softhat the ears hold the string or band well inside the ends of the tubes. 1 y

Colors may be provided as desired. 'As mentioned in connection with Figs. 1 and 4, the embodiment may have translucent pressure sensitive adhesive tape over any or all transparent areas. In the particular embodiment, the trans-y lucent pressure sensitive adhesive tape 24 is blue in color` to provide blue end-edging for the sign.

Furthermore, although it is preferred to pro-k vide the sheet with indicia by the photo-chemical process, transparent sheets can have signs written on them in stains, opaque paints or translucent applicationsv such as decalcomanias. In fact, opaque paints are highly desirable for sign purposes as when the sign is turned off. For instance, the White substance in the tube which shows through the transparent portions of the sleeve may not be enough of a display in some installations. The paint can also be fluorescent for other colors or afterglow if desired.

Not only this, but having described -several embodiments of my invention and its characteristcs and use, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various and further uses and changes can be made Without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is commensurate with the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A sign comprising a uorescent light tube, a support means, sockets for mounting the tube carried by said support means, a sleeve jouron said Isleeve forrotating same on the tube,` and caps upon said sockets confining said ele-v ment to engage said sleeve intermediate :the ends of the sleeve.

2. A readily adjustable sign including spaced fluorescent light tubes, a support for said tubes for mounting same in xed parallel positions,

and an endless sleeve extending around both of said tubes and movable upon said tubes, said l sleeve having rindicia, dened by contiguous opaque and translucent areas.

WALTER L) ERNST.

References cited in 'the sie of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 497,023 Hart Mayf9, 1893 1,434,873 Celane et al. Nov. 1, 1922 1,724,584 Hendry Aug. 13, 1929 1,788,427 Eisenberg Jan. 13, 1931 1,875,049 Lewis Aug. 30, 1932 l1,877,932 Meyer et al. Sept. 20, 1932 2,041,909 Emmert et al May 26, `1936 2,129,780 Nickel Sept. 13, 1938 2,276,842 Harrison Mar. 17, 1942 2,289,404 kBallew July 14, 1942 2,293,185 Wolfson Aug.l 18, 1942 2,308,986 Livers Jan. 19, 1943 2,363,109 Keiffer Nov. 21, 1944 2,366,216 Roberts Jan. 2, 1945 2,374,640 Paul Apr'. 24, 1945 2,443,510 McCallum June 15, 1948 

